The present invention relates to a milking apparatus, and in particular the invention relates to apparatus for presenting a teat cup for attaching to a teat of an animal to be milked, and the invention also relates to a method for presenting a teat cup for attaching to a teat of an animal to be milked. The invention also relates to a rotary milking platform and a rotary milking parlour.
Rotary milking parlours are known. Such rotary milking parlours comprise a rotary milking platform which is rotated during milking of the animals. A plurality of animal accommodating locations are provided side by side circumferentially around and adjacent the periphery of the rotary milking platform for accommodating the animals during milking. Ideally the rotational speed of the rotary milking platform is set so that the time taken for one complete revolution of the platform is sufficient to allow milking of a typical animal, and also to allow sufficient time for attaching of teat cups of a milking system to the teats of the animal, and the subsequent removal of the teat cups therefrom. Thus, with the rotational speed of the rotary milking platform so set, on completion of one revolution of the rotary platform, milking of the animal should have been completed, the teat cups should have been removed from the animal and the animal should be just ready to exit the rotary platform.
If the rotational speed of the rotary milking platform is too great, milking of the animal will not have been completed or the teat cups will not have been removed from the animal by the time the platform has made one complete revolution. On the other hand, if the rotational speed of the platform is too slow, the animals will have to remain on the rotary platform for a longer period than is necessary. Both problems of a rotary milking platform operating at too high a speed or too low a speed lead to inefficiency in milking.
Efficiency in the operation of a rotary milking platform could be achieved by increasing the rotational speed of the platform, provided of course that at the end of one complete revolution of the rotary platform, milking of the animal due to exit the rotary platform had been completed, and the teat cups had been removed from the animal. Since it is virtually impossible to reduce the milking time of an animal, the areas where improved efficiency could be achieved are in the attaching and removal of the teat cups.
There is therefore a need for apparatus for presenting teat cups for attaching to the teats of an animal for facilitating efficient attaching and removal of the teat cups to and from the animal. There is also a need for a rotary milking platform which comprises such apparatus, and further, there is a need for a milking parlour generally, be it rotary or otherwise, in which the attaching and removal of teat cups to and from the teats of an animal may be carried out efficiently and in the shortest possible time.
The present invention is directed towards providing apparatus for presenting a teat cup for attaching to a teat of an animal for milking thereof. The invention is also directed towards providing a milking parlour comprising such apparatus, and the invention is also directed towards providing a rotary milking platform with such apparatus. Further the invention is directed towards providing a method for presenting a teat cup for attaching to a teat of an animal for milking thereof.